Thursday, May 7, 2009

Top SNL commercial parodies

Though the quality of Saturday Night Live is slightly more erratic than a cocaine binge weekend, one thing that can usually be counted on are their commercial parodies. Short and to the point, the canvas they give the "not ready for prime time performers" is structured and finite, taking away the challenge of how to end them (an achilles heel for many of the skits).

So I decided to take a closer look at them, and rank the top 13 commercial parodies from over the years Some you'll recognize, others you might scratch your head at...

13. Whopper virgins

I enjoy the slight "Gods Must Be Crazy" vibe this ad strikes. Perhaps a touch overacted, it still presents the introduction of a whopper into a cultural who has never seen it better than Burger King ever could.

12. Pony Express

This is one of those "10 of 1" clips that polarize an audience. I happen to think it's brilliant.

11. Black Eyed Peas

I'm pretty sure this is probably not just a parody, but a glimpse into the future of the Black Eyed Peas.

10. Bassomatic

The Bassomatic isn't funny because it's clever or anything; the Bassomatic is funny because Dan Akroyd puts a fish in a blender.

9. Uncle Jemima's Mash Liquor

I never thought SNL truly captured the essence of what made Tracy Morgan Tracy Morgan. This commercial for mash liquor comes close though. Parodying both Aunt Jemima AND Uncle Remus, the ad definitely plays to Morgan's strengths.

8. First Citywide - Change

Part 2:

Subtle in its delivery, First Citywide nails the bank commercials of the early 90s. I mean seriously, how could anyone think making change was funny? It's all about the execution on this one.

7. Valtrex

Sure it's an old joke, but when you can get a master thespian of Baldwin's caliber delivering perfectly-timed responses, it's bliss.

6. Colon Blow

You know it's coming, you just don't know when it's coming.

5. Dissing your Dog

I know it's chic to hate Will Ferrell, but I just can't do it. Mostly for videos like this one. Who hasn't ever been passive aggressive with their dog? Oh. Um, me neither.

4. Wade Blasingame Dog Attorney

It's tough to make something funnier than Chris Parnell squatting in a yard wearing nothing but (possibly) spandexed underwear.

3. Little Chocolate Donuts

Quite possibly the one that started them all (for me at least), in that it was filmed and definitively spoofed an actual product.

2. Happy Fun Ball

DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BALL!

1. Bad Idea Jeans

Still in my lexicon, still in many people's lexicon. The only thing bad about this is the fact that the jeans are just horrible looking. No one in their right mind would wear something like that. I mean seriously, what a bad idea...wait a minute...

So, I'm sure I've missed your favorites, so why not tell me about it in the comments?

Oops I Crapped my Pants can stand the test of time over some of the other parodies, and most everyone knows it...

Schmidtt's Gay was my favorite the one that had Sandler and Farley house sitting the dump house. The pool turns into a bunch of gay dudes. There is horse fights, farley flipping his sunglasses down checking the dude out, and the weird hand thing they replay three times that Farley and Sandler do...Kills me every time.

The original one before they lost the rights to "Beautiful Girls" as the background is a million times better.

How about, "Beautiful but Stupid", with Jane Curtin and Bill Murray, or the car commercial with the Rabbi performing a circumcision as he's driven down a heavily pot-holed street. I cant remember the name of that one.

So, here's my thoughts. Agreeing with above commenters about Schmidt's Gay, Swill, and the Rabbi/Circumcision one (I think it was a Cadillac commercial?). And Oops I Crapped My Pants is still one of the funniest ever.

But, what about the Yard-a-pult? How has that one been glossed over???

Seconding the Annuale and Love Toilet, and all the others mentioned really, but agreeing with pretty much the whole list. I do prefer the Virgania Horsen's Balloon Rides to the Pony Express, though. Commercial parodies are one of those things SNL is killer at. Also, fun fact! Happy Fun Ball was written by Jack "Deep Thoughts" Handey, and is included in his book What I'd Say to the Martians.

The "Adobe" (car made out of clay) is notable for the line "But if your last name isn't Rockefeller..." Also, the "Mercury Mistress," the car you could have sex with (Jon Lovitz shtupping a car, what could be better). And in recent years, my favorite is "Turlington's Lower Back Tattoo Remover" - timely and hilarious.

The ONLY two of the top 13 listed here that I thought were funny at all were the First Citiwide and Bad Idea Jeans.

The all-time greats in my book are: "It's a floor wax! It's a dessert topping!"; "AT&T. We've got your children."; "Texxon. Do what we say, and nobody gets hurt." (making fun of oil conglomerates trying to come off as philanthropic, but really presaged the age of 'too big to fail' financial institutions); and the ingenious "two teens from the waist down flirting" ad for General Dynamics.

Where's Velvet Jones, 'Schmidt's Gay,' 'Chia Head,' 'Moorehead Securities,' and the credit card one with Roseanne Barr and Phil Hartman? There are a few classics here, but a lot of these picks are pretty bad.

TEENY WEENIES - parody on fertility drugs that's so funny because it's so true (even moreso after the Octomom). "Make as many babies as you want and keep the ones you want". "It's fun to defy God".http://www.eonline.com/videos/v1600237880_SNL__Teeny_Weenies.html

(TV Funhouse) parody Disney commercials:TITEY - a talking Titanic vs. Whoopi Goldberg as the bad old iceberg, plus Anne FrankJOURNEY TO THE DISNEY VAULT - mocks the short windows where their movies are on video and has 2 kids go to the vault where they're a bit disturbed by things they find which Disney would rather keep hushed uphttp://www.metacafe.com/watch/171147/journey_2_the_disney_vault/

Also don't forget that great mockery of action figures and vehicles based on things not in the actual movie:PHILADELPHIA ACTION FIGURES

Here's a big Wikipedia list for people to jog their memories:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_commercial_parodies

I never watch SNL, but I found a couple of SNL clips on my cable's onDemand section and just about died laughing when I watched one called "Short & Curly". I had to rewind and watch it atleast 6 or 7 times after catching my breath!

I really like "Womba" from the mind of Tina Fey. Adobe the little clay car, the Camilion the luxury car on the inside only, and the one with Sam Waterstone about the number one killer of old people. Robots.

What about Big Red, the indoor sprinkler that shoots red dye around the house? And the FedEx-type delivery service that will back date packages: "we'll take your package, and the blame." Finally, Nerf Crotchbat. No explanation necessary.

I can't believe no one has mentioned "Bathroom Monkey" starring Jeneanne Garafolo. Hilarious...you just keep the monkey in your bathroom and he cleans it 24/7. Also available in Orangutan - brilliant! At the end the monkey writes on the tiled walls in lipstick - "MONKEY HATE CLEAN"

It's been said before but I'll reiterate: Schmidtt's Gay, Oops I Crapped my Pants & Old Glory Robot insurance all deserve mention. Old Glory would be the #1 on my list...indisputably it's the very pinnacle of Sam Waterston's whole career. Out of these picks, I really loved Uncle Jemima & the 2 dog ones w/ Ferrell. I'd totally forgotten the Wade Blasingame sketch and how hy-freakin-sterical it was..

I so HATE Hulu. Because of their protectionist and isolationist policies, I cannot watch anything they have because I do not live in the frickin' United States. The problem is that every other site inevitably draws their feed from Hulu and the same frickin' blocks kick in!!

The best line in the "Adobe" spot was, "We've combined German engineering with Mexican know-how" that kills me every time. But I would have to say Nerf Crotchbat made me laugh harder than I have in a long time. The part with the Nerf crotch missle at the end kills me

The cat litter play doh thingy was effing hilarious, as was the lower back tattoo remover. And I remember some crazy sketch about Stevie Nicks having some goofy restaurant, but I'm not sure if it was a commercial. Old Glory robot insurance is THE BEST EVER though.

Hands down, Epoxydent. Starts off like a real denture adhesive commercial - Grampa loses his teeth at the church picnic, Epoxydent is deployed to fix the gaffe, a bit is lowered into the frame then Gramps chomps down and flies off into the sunset suspended from a helicopter. Classic.

I seem to be the only one who remembers this one. Or I was very, very drunk and it never actually appeared on Saturday Night Live, or anything else...

The Car for Crazy People?I think it was Will Farrell as the crazy driver. I know it featured a sink in the center console so you could wash your hands every 5 seconds. Can't find a video for it anywhere.

I can't believe no one's mentioned Chris Farley's hilarious turn in the "Folgers with Crystals" commercial, or the "Roach Hotel" pest control commercial with Will Ferrel. Two of my absolute favorites, next to Old Glory robot insurance, of course.

Hulu sucks. Please think about your neighbors in the north because Hulu doesn't stream to Canada. I would appreciate using a more general streaming service so that the Canucks and all others can participate.

"Roach Hotel" equal parts funny and disturbing, with the CGi roach being taunted and beaten with it's own, just torn off legs."Old Glory Robot Insurance" is still my favorite, a gem written by Conan O'Brien

Mike Myers did a hilarious one about a brand of "English Toothpaste" (with a really high sugar content) which I found absolutely hilarious, and I also remember a more recent one with Amy Poehler in it that was about a tattoo removal product.

There was also the "not-so-fresh feeling" commercial with Michael Jordan, and the much more recent "Shake-Weight Commercial DVD". Can't forget those!